Cover image courtesy of NZ Racing Desk

Between two of the stud’s resident stallions, Rich Hill was responsible for the winners of both the G1 Makybe Diva S. and, closer to home, the G1 Tarzino Trophy. With a victory in the Flemington feature, I’m Thunderstruck (NZ) became the first dual-Group 1 winner for his sire Shocking, and in the local feature Dark Destroyer (NZ) became a new top-flight victor for his sire, Proisir.

“It was a great day, there was a lot happening with a lot of interest for the farm throughout the day,” Thompson told TDN AusNZ. “Often you go into a day’s racing with high hopes, but it doesn’t always eventuate. So, it was a pretty special day when there were only two Group 1s in Australasia and your sires throw the winner of both of them.”

Since establishing Rich Hill Stud in 1994 by John and his wife Colleen along with his business partner Alan Galbraith QC, Thompson has shaped it into one of New Zealand’s leading nurseries. But despite excellent results, he’s conscious of the need to keep enticing breeders, and the achievements of the farm’s two stallions on Saturday are all the more notable because each represents excellent value for their service fees.

“As we know, New Zealand is a trading nation, and we have to set our fees to keep people breeding and keep people in the game,” he explained. “Until our prizemoney increases - and there are some positive signs on the horizon - that’s the way it is over here.”

Dark Destroyer was sired in Proisir’s third season, in 2017, when he stood for NZ$7000 plus GST, and I’m Thunderstruck by Shocking when he stood for NZ$8500 plus GST a year earlier.

“People do appreciate what great value our horses are for what they offer,” was Thompson’s truly modest conclusion.

Refusing to be overlooked

In the lead up to the G1 Tarzino Trophy, the majority of the talk was about the clash between Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) and La Crique (NZ) (Vadamos {Fr}), which saw Dark Destroyer somewhat forgotten about.

Even longer earlier in the day, Dark Destroyer was sent off at NZ$11.20 for the feature race at Hastings on Saturday. However, Thompson pointed out that the form was there for all to see, and with the right conditions he was able to show his best.

“With the way the race panned out, and a great ride from Lisa Allpress, he was able to finish over the top of them. It really was a great effort first-up for the season,” said Thompson, hinting that there should be more to come.

“You’ve got to remember that he did start favourite for a Group 1 in the autumn in the Queensland Derby,” Thompson noted. “He was a little bit unlucky there and he had a great lead-up form both in New Zealand and Australia and he’d proven that he was definitely a Group 1 horse on his day.”

That form included a trio of stakes victories in the gelding’s Classic year last season. Beginning his run by winning the G3 Bonecrusher S. at Matamata last December, he followed this up by taking out the G2 Auckland Guineas.

During his time in Australia, he worked up towards taking out the G3 Rough Habit Plate in May, showing that he can more than hold his own amongst some of the best in both nations, and he now has plenty of options ahead of him for the season.

A deserving upgrader

As stallions go, Proisir’s is a likeable story in many ways. First of all, he mixed in with some tough contemporaries as a racehorse, such as Pierro, Rebel Dane and Dundeel (NZ). Then, turning to breeding duties he was given every chance by Thompson, sticking to his first-year fee of just NZ$7000 plus GST for five seasons.

He grabbed his opportunity at stud as it became clear he was upgrading his mares and his progeny started to do the talking for him, and he covered his biggest book in 2020 at a very healthy 152 mares.

It wasn’t just the numbers that were picking up either, “…quality too,” Thompson confirmed. “If you analyse the quality of his books, he’s never really had too many Book 1 representatives over the years but that’s all going to change this year – he served a number of Book 1 mares that will have yearlings now.

“He could go to another level with the quality of mares he’s covered, and that’ll keep going based on what he’s got booked at the moment.”

Proisir’s top lot at the 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale sold for NZ$200,000 and Thompson is confident that results such as that will soon become far more common for the stallion.

“This year he’ll have a lot of horses in Book 1 which he’s never had before,” he said. “He really has upgraded his mares and good stallions can do that. There’s plenty of examples of stallions that upgrade their mares, then they get the good mares and go to another level. Hopefully, he’s one of those.”

Pointing to one of the reasons behind his success so far, and confirming his potential, Thompson referred to Proisir’s pedigree as an excellent mix for Kiwi mares.

“Proisir is from a very old New Zealand family,” he said. “Going back to Bridesmaid and then her dam Sunbride in the sixties, these are really great families. Then, he crosses so well with so many mares here, because Sir Tristram works so well with Danehill.”

With more notable names in Proisir’s pedigree, such as his damsire Encosta De Lago, Thompson used the success of Levante (NZ) as an example that he offers something for everyone when it comes to pedigree reinforcement and crosses.

Proisir’s first Group 1 winner, Levante’s second dam is by Nureyev (USA), who is related to Encosta De Lago through his own dam, Special (USA) (Forli {USA}).

Much like improving racehorses, it’s hard to know where the limit is for a stallion who has that enviable quality of upgrading his mares, and hence Thompson is rightly optimistic about the heights Proisir could reach.

“Proisir has well and truly shown that he’s capable of throwing high-class horses, fillies and colts,” said Thompson. “On the farm we’ve always felt that because he started at the NZ$7000 service fee and he’s always upgraded the mares he’s got, he’ll just keep progressing. With the number of winners he gets, he could be a future champion sire in New Zealand.”

Like father, like son

Although a more established sire, Shocking’s success via I’m Thunderstruck was no less exciting for Thompson. Not least because in winning the Makybe Diva S., the 5-year-old gelding emulated his sire.

“It really is a feather in his cap,” said Thompson. “Early on, people perhaps pigeon-holed Shocking a little bit as a staying sire, he did get a New Zealand Oaks winner in his first crop, but with the right sort of mare he can throw all sorts of horses.

“Perhaps that’s the secret to the Street Cry blood – versatility. Street Cry himself got champion sprinters, champion mares and champion stayers. Shocking is following in his footsteps in some ways.”

With a total of 19 stakes winners to his name, Shocking is represented by another top-flight winner besides I’m Thunderstruck with that aforementioned G1 New Zealand Oaks Winner, Fanatic (NZ). And, at 17 years old, he shows no signs of slowing down ahead of what promises to be another busy season for him.

“He’s very capable, very fit and well and he’s very fertile,” confirmed Thompson. “He’s very capable of serving a great book of mares. We had some stallion parades recently and everyone was saying he’s never looked better, though they do look at them with rose tinted glasses when they start throwing Group 1 winners,” he laughed.

However, Thompson also reported that, compared to his younger counterparts, Shocking’s book of mares will tend to shape up as the breeding season progresses.

“He gets great support from the shareholders, and as the season goes on he always seems to gain some momentum. Some of our younger stallions at this stage have bigger books than him, but there’s a lot of mares still to foal and a lot of decisions still to make and if you’re looking for a proven stallion then he certainly comes right into that category.”

Shocking stands for NZ$12,500 plus GST this year, with Proisir at NZ$17,500 plus GST.

With the latter set to have his name in lights at next year’s yearling sales, it could also be a big year for another Rich Hill resident, the Japanese shuttler Satono Aladdin (Jpn).

The son of highly influential Deep Impact (Jpn), and a winner of the G1 Yasuda Kinen, Satono Aladdin shuttled to New Zealand for the first time in 2018, although he was forced to miss the trip in 2020 due to COVID.

With that first crop now in their Classic season, Thompson is looking forward to seeing them flourish.

“People are possibly a bit surprised about just how many 2-year-old winners he got and how brilliant a couple of his winners had been,” he said. “He’s in a good space.”

A great advertisement for this judgement was the debut win of Japanese Emperor (NZ) at the end of last month. The Mike Moroney-trained gelding flew home late at Sandown-Hillside and holds an entry for the G1 Caulfield Guineas on October 8.

“He’s really captured the imagination of people and he’s going to be flat out,” said Thompson.

Alongside dual Group 1 winner Ace High, a son of the great High Chapparal (Ire) who is due his first runners this season, the Rich Hill Stud roster is completed by Vadamos (Fr), whose La Crique was third to Dark Destroyer in Saturday’s Tarzino Trophy.

“I thought that was a great run on a track that didn’t suit her, so she’s in for a big season. By the end of the season, we could have a lot to celebrate.”

Cover image courtesy of Freedman Racing

It was hard not to be impressed by Custodian's performance, as he accounted for his rivals with a minimum of fuss. Harron acknowledged that he has plenty of untapped potential, but isn't thinking too far ahead with the beautifully bred colt.

Trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained, Harron secured Custodian from the draft of Arrowfield Stud for $1.15 million at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and the 3-year-old justified his odds-on quote in the 1100-metre contest to go home 1.5l the better off the Rupert Legh and Gerry Ryan-owned Cannon (Written Tycoon).

“I thought it was very pleasing, he is a horse that the Freedmans have a lot of time for and he’s developed beautifully from two to three,” Harron told TDN AusNZ.

"And the patience and time he’s had probably paid dividends, but I still thought he raced quite greenly today and you could see that coming around the bend when he drifted off the turn and was on the wrong lead.

“All those things are quite positive in terms of how much improvement there might be to come, but he’s still got to get on with it.”

Harron said the decision to kick Custodian’s campaign off in a Sale maiden rather than throwing him in the deep end was to ensure he could get a win on the board before pressing on to bigger and better things.

The astute agent described his valuable colt as a proper sprinting type.

“He presented physically like he was a sprinter/miler as a 2-year-old, he had a lot of scope, a lot of range and was quite an athletic horse,” Harron said.

“But when he had the spell and came back he developed into a really strong horse that looks like a real sprinter, which is why we wanted to kick him off over that short-course distance.

“He presents as an on-speed, fast horse and that’s what we played towards today and will stick to unless he tells us anything different.”

Dual Group 1-winning jockey Ethan Brown, who partnered Custodian to victory on Sunday, said the colt gave him the feel of a Group horse.

However, Harron doesn’t have any big spring plans in mind, saying the Freedman camp will work Custodian through his grades before even thinking about aiming up at a race like the G1 Coolmore Stud S.

“You couldn’t make that determination off today, you just have to take small steps with these horses and while today was positive there is a long way to go,” Harron said.

“With this type of horse, he is a big horse and is still working it all out, so I think it is important to bring him through his grades slowly and see where that takes us.

“But that’s not to say he doesn’t end up in a nice race through the spring, but at this point, you want to see him put a couple of wins together and build confidence.”

Custodian’s $1.15 million price-tag makes him the most expensive yearling by Arrowfield's stallion Shalaa (Ire) to date.

While it was a significant price to pay for a horse that always promised to be a late-season 2-year-old, Harron knew that he wasn’t leaving the complex without the outstanding physical specimen.

“He has a magnificent pedigree, his mother (Honesty Prevails) was very, very good and whether we saw the best of her in her short career I’m not sure as she was seriously talented,” Harron said.

“And this guy (Custodian) was all quality, he was just a beautiful animal, we had to pay up for him but he was probably the best physical type of colt that we saw all year.”

Custodian’s pedigree received a massive boost when Profondo, the first foal out of their G3 Widden Stud S.-winning dam Honesty Prevails (Redoute’s Choice), burst onto the scene last spring winning the G1 Spring Champion S.

“Those pedigree updates are important, it tells you that the mare could be very good and I’m a huge believer in the potency of these good mares,” Harron said.

“Profondo is just full of talent and we’ve been watching him since the sales, however, they are quite different in the fact that Shalaa creates speed on speed whereas Profondo is stamina over speed.

“But hopefully Custodian is as talented as Profondo.”

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

Some broodmares just don’t seem to be able to throw a bad one. Of her three foals to race, Rose Of Mulan’s least successful is a six-time winner and, as Gillard reported, there are high hopes for her latest flagbearer. It was a double celebration for Gillard on Saturday too, since he picked the most promising to retain for himself and his family to race.

The Bjorn Baker-trained Shades Of Rose (Rubick) took out the G2 Sheraco S. at Rosehill and became a second stakes winner for Rose Of Mulan (and a seventh for Rubick). It was yet another success for the 4-year-old mare who has a smart record.

With seven victories to her name from just nine races, Shades Of Rose has climbed through the grades almost faultlessly and wasn’t far off remaining unbeaten in all her starts. But for an unexplained incident of ‘buckjumping’, in which she only ran 100 metres of a BM72 handicap back in July before beginning to leap in the air uncontrollably, she might be even closer to an unblemished record.

“She came through the grades. She broke the track record at Bathurst by a second in her second start. Then there was the buckjumping, so she probably should be undefeated,” Gillard told TDN AusNZ.

“We thought she’d win easily yesterday (Saturday) and it was a bit heart-throbbing in the end but she deserves a good break now.”

Making all the running under Rachel King in her first attempt at black type, Shades Of Rose was very, nearly collared on the line by Electric Girl (Declaration Of War {USA}). However, Gillard is confident that the margin reflects the end of a long season for his mare and not the height of her abilities.

“We think she’s very special, she was well over the top yesterday (Saturday),” he said. “If it was in her next campaign she’d have won by a couple of lengths, she’s a pretty good horse.

“Next prep she’ll be a special horse, Bjorn and I believe she has Group 1 potential.”

Having taken in six starts and a trial (to resolve the buckjumping) since the beginning of July, Shades Of Rose has indeed been busy and has now earned a break.

“She’ll have a break now, we’re going to assess her next week,” he revealed. “There’s no use going out then coming back too early for the autumn campaign. But whether we just freshen her up or give her a longer break, we’ll give her a couple of days to settle down and see how we go.”

Whilst the length of her break and any targets immediately following that are yet to be confirmed, Gillard did reveal his ultimate aim for the mare: “…certainly, she’s a TJ Smith horse for next autumn,” he said.

For Rose Of Mulan’s other Saturday winner, Scallopini (Snitzel), it was far from the first taste of black-type success. In taking out the Listed The Sofitel at Flemington, the 8-year-old gelding became a four-time Listed winner and gained his first stakes victory outside Queensland for trainers Steven O’Dea and Matthew Hoystead.

Although obviously more exposed, he too has been a thoroughly consistent horse, winning 11 of his 38 starts and just over $800,000 in prizemoney. He was sold by Gillard for $200,000 at the 2016 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and he retained a share, with the horse raced under Proven Thoroughbreds.

“He’s just a wonderful horse,” Gillard enthused. “He just needs the right conditions. If he gets a Soft track over 1400 (metres), I’d say he’s up there with the best in Australia. He showed that yesterday in the way he demoralised that field.

“The Proven Thoroughbred' when racing team have done a great job; they’ve spaced the starts as needs a bit of time between runs.”

A winning family

For all that Rose Of Mulan is certainly adept at producing nice horses, she herself was never raced. She is out the G2 AJC Light Fingers S. winner Lady Mulan (NZ) (Bigstone {Ire}), who was placed in multiple Group 1 events.

After Scallopini, her next live foal came in the form of a full sister to Shades Of Rose, who was sold at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and, perhaps unsurprisingly, picked up by Proven Thoroughbreds/Steven O’Dea Racing also.

She is the six-time winner Red Rubi (Rubick), who Gillard reported will soon be seen in stakes races too, perhaps to make up a perfect score of raced produce to stakes winners for the super mare.

Rose Of Mulan’s latest foal of racing age is a 3-year-old filly by Extreme Choice. Named Decisively, she was picked up by her trainer Danny O’Brien in combination with Yes Bloodstock at the 2021 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale for $420,000 and is yet to race.

“In hindsight, I think I shouldn’t have sold it,” Gillard said of her.

In something of a juggling act between commercial sense and enjoyment of the game, Gillard described how he likes to keep some fillies to race himself. Asked why he decided to keep Shades Of Rose, in what looks now like an incredibly astute decision, he said:

“I just liked her. I’d previously sold the sale-topper at Magic Millions, and we only got $35,000 for Red Rubi, so I said I may as well keep her. She was the nicest of the lot, and I do like to keep some as broodmares for later on.”

Keeping an eye on Danehill

With the prominence of Danehill (USA) blood in Australian broodmares, Gillard has been conscious throughout his mating decisions with Rose Of Mulan to keep her progeny as Danehill-free as possible, so as to add to the appeal of her progeny for future breeders.

That was the logic behind the mating that produced Shades Of Rose, and there can be no argument that she would be a highly prized broodmare should she retire tomorrow.

“Rubick’s done well, and if you look at the bloodline, she’s More Than Ready out of a Bigstone mare then we put in Rubick who’s only got the Rock Of Gibraltar Danehill line in there. It makes her even more special and valuable as a broodmare because they’ve virtually got no Danehill in them.

“I’m trying to keep the Danehill line out of it,” he explained “She’s recently had a beautiful Hellbent filly foal, Harry Mitchell loves it up there at Yarraman Park.”

With an excellent produce record and one that was boosted further by Saturday’s achievements, there’s understandably no messing around with this season’s mating plan for Gillard’s star broodmare, as she will visit the Champion Sire.

“She’s a blue hen now, I’m putting her to I Am Invincible,” Gillard said.

But would he keep the product of that mating? “It depends,” he said. “Imagine if it’s a top-class colt!”

Originally published in TDN AusNZ on June 9, 2022

In July 1960, the American sportswriter Red Smith visited Ascot Racecourse on his way to the Olympics in Rome. It was the occasion when Petite Etoile (GB) (Petition {GB}), a savagely good filly for the Aga Khan, was vying for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S.

Before his eyes, the ‘slightly bewildered yank’ watched as Petite Etoile went down in an argument with Aggressor (GB), all before an audience that included Smith, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother.

‘Half the Royal family was on the premises,’ Smith wrote home, ‘and horse players were being so polite their teeth hurt.’

For Smith, the presence of the Royal family was material as good as Petite Etoile herself. He noted that The Queen was dressed in pink and Princess Margaret in blue, and ‘there was no sign of The Queen’s consort, Prince Philip, who leaves the family’s gambling to his womenfolk’.

That Petite Etoile was defeated after a nine-race streak (which included the 1000 Guineas, the Epsom Oaks, the Champion S. and Coronation Cup) was a headline, but it was certainly worth writing home about when it happened in front of the Queen of England.

Some 52 years later, in the English summer of 2012, Peter Moody discovered a similar overwhelm that comes with a Royal confrontation. It occurred at the same racecourse when Black Caviar (Bel Esprit), truly spent after a ding-busting, winning effort in the G1 Diamond Jubilee, ‘slumped towards The Queen’ for a pat in the enclosure.

In his book, Moody recounts that Her Majesty was genuinely interested in ‘this horse she’d heard so much about’.

“When she came over to see the mare, it was like a meeting of the two queens of Australia,” Moody said in the days after the race. It became a very famous moment after a very famous event.

Racing makes her human

For horse racing, the presence of Queen Elizabeth II at a race meeting has always spiked public interest, elevating the event to something more than just a collection of fine horses dashing on grass.

For those that meet her, it’s a story to tell forevermore, and Moody’s encounter at Royal Ascot in 2012 made the aftermath of Black Caviar’s victory that year so much more memorable.

For instance, how many news outlets carried the image of The Queen reaching out to the mare’s nose, and how many times did the trainer have to recount those moments in the enclosure? Her Majesty’s presence amplified the fame of that afternoon.

For decades now, the British public has been able to enjoy the Royal’s presence at its important meetings.

The Queen first attended Royal Ascot in 1945, and it’s only in the last handful of years that she hasn’t been able to go along. In 1953, just four days after her coronation, she headed to Epsom for the English Derby, cheering home her brilliant colt Aureole (GB), a son of Hyperion (GB), to second place.

It was a statement that the young Queen, by her own admission a racing tragic, would reign as a huge ambassador for horse racing, and that’s how it’s gone for the last 70 years. And, according to Newmarket trainer and turf journalist John Berry, the sport is richer for it.

“The Queen’s love of racing has pretty much guaranteed that anyone who is into racing, even if they’re not a monarchist, is definitely not going to be an anti-monarchist, just out of respect and affection for her,” Berry said. “One of the loveliest things about The Queen’s immersion in this sport, and her love of it, is that it’s a great way of reminding everyone that she’s a human being.

“When you see figures of state, it’s almost like they’re so far removed from normal life that it’s easy to forget they are normal human beings. But when you see The Queen on a racecourse, she’s the most human that anyone could ever be because she’s so passionate about it.”

In 2013, her humanity was obvious when Her Majesty’s mare, the gallant Estimate (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}), won the G1 Ascot Gold Cup at the Royal meeting. The pictures of a giddy Queen Elizabeth, sat next to her Racing Manager John Warren, were beamed around the world.

“So many of our biggest owners these days stand in the winners’ enclosure like it’s a business deal gone well,” Berry said. “To see The Queen so full of excitement and passion for racing, particularly compared to other top-level owners, it reflects so favourably on her.”

The sport of Queens

For a very long time, racing, more than any sport, has enjoyed the endorsement of the Royal family.

By its very nature, it’s been the ‘Sport of Kings’ for centuries, and Ascot Racecourse itself was founded by Queen Anne in 1711. Two hundred years later, in 1911, the traditional summer meeting became ‘Royal Ascot’.

Nat Gould, a devout turf writer of the late 1800s, and an Englishman who spent many years in Australia, wrote that ‘the splendour of Ascot on Cup Day is unequalled on any racecourse in the world; it is an object-lesson as to what the Old Country can do on special occasions’.

For Queen Elizabeth II, her involvement in the sport has been tireless, and it probably isn’t accurate to claim that it kicked off with her first racehorse, Astrakhan (GB) (Turkhan {GB}), who was a wedding present from the Aga Khan in 1948. Rather, Elizabeth spent much of her youth following her father’s interests around.

Astrakhan, however, gave the then Princess Elizabeth her very first thrill as an owner, winning the Merry Maiden S. at Hurst Park in 1950 when Elizabeth was visiting Malta. The filly was the future queen’s first flat winner and the catalyst of a long life in ownership.

Elizabeth had grown up influenced by racing through her father, King George VI, and, as a reigning monarch herself, her success in the sport has been excellent without being excessive.

Aureole was her first triumph, the ravishing colt running second in the 1953 Epsom Derby before winning the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., a race named after his owner’s parents. He also won the Coronation Cup and Hardwicke S., and he became a fine stallion at Sandringham Stud.

Aureole was the eventual result of a 1930s purchase by the Royal Family, a filly called Feola (GB) (Friar Marcus {GB}) at Newmarket Sales. She cost 3000gns and she wasn't particularly good on the track, but she proved a foundation mare for the Royal Studs.

Feola had 10 foals, the sixth of which was Angelola (GB) (Donatello II {Fr}), who eventually proved the dam of Aureole.

As queen, Elizabeth won the Epsom Oaks in 1957 with Carrozza (Ire) (Dante {GB}), and the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket with the brilliant Highclere (GB) (Queen’s Hussar {GB}).

Her filly Dunfermline (GB) (Royal Palace {GB}) won the Oaks in 1977 and the St Leger at Doncaster a short time after, and amid all these she’s had plenty of others.

“She had the runner-up in the Derby 69 years ago, and even if you start off with that level of passion, it’s hard to maintain your initial level of interest for decades and decades,” Berry said.

“But The Queen has. When Free Agent won the Chesham S. about a decade ago, she hadn’t had a Royal Ascot winner for a very long time, and the Chesham is one of the least prestigious races of the meeting.

“But she was as animated and excited as if it were the first winner she owned, and I think she turned to John Warren as if she were going to punch the air, and I’d say she wasn’t far off it.”

For a reigning monarch, these open displays of excitement are few and far between. For 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II has been perfectly poised, slow-moving and almost demure, as most regal heads of state are expected to be.

It’s a cute fact then that the only time she’s been seen publicly running was at Ascot Racecourse and, during the very early years of her reign, she used to take a gallop down the Royal Ascot straight aboard one of her trusted riding horses on the mornings before racing.

In 1961, she had an unofficial five furlong sprint with members of the meeting’s Royal party.

“Her passion aside, she’s done very well as an owner,” Berry said. “When she came to the throne, the Royal Studs had one of the best broodmare bands in the country, and all the leading studs of then have been at best marginalised and at worst disappeared, because racing has changed so much.

“If you’re not seen to have hundreds of good broodmares and you’re not pumping fortunes into it, you’re not going to be consistently competitive at the top level.

“Her Majesty can’t be seen politically to be pouring money into it so she has to control the expenditure, and I’d say therefore that the Royal Studs have lasted a lot longer and a lot better than many of the leading studs of the 1950s.”

The Royal touch

The Queen’s breeding interests are housed at the Royal Studs, Sandringham. It’s an impeccable estate lined with Redwood trees and broadleaf natives, the Stud itself founded in 1886 by Edward, Prince of Wales.

‘It’s little wonder that the members of the Royal Family, from King Edward downwards, are so attached to it,’ Gould wrote of Sandringham in 1910. The former home of the great stallion Persimmon (GB) was ‘in beautiful country, amidst such surroundings as are seldom seen even in this land of famous homes’.

Thoroughbred numbers at Sandringham are boutique these days because, as Berry said, The Queen cannot be seen shovelling a fortune into bloodstock.

In a 1974 interview recorded for television, she explained that her breeding interests were quite simple, in her eyes.

“I enjoy breeding a horse that’s faster than any other people’s,” she said. “Basically, I love horses, and the thoroughbred epitomises a really good horse.”

For decades, the British breeding industry has enjoyed the attention of Queen Elizabeth II and, in return, she has given thoroughbred breeding plenty.

In a hot Australian summer in 1977, she made a visit to Colin Hayes and Lindsay Park, and she did similar on a tour of New Zealand in 1990 when she spent a day at Cambridge Stud.

The bones of horse breeding are of genuine interest to her, and she has homed broodmares in all corners of the world.

Highclere, her Oaks winner, went to Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky, while the five-time Australian Group-winner Sweet Idea (Snitzel), bought privately in 2015 by John Warren from businessman Nick Vass, is part of the Royal broodmare band.

Sweet Idea has already produced a winner for Her Majesty in the shape of Companionship (GB), a Galileo (Ire) filly that won in the Royal silks at Chelmsford two years ago.

For the race-going, race-loving public, The Queen’s investment in racing and breeding has endeared her, even in a climate that’s increasingly republican. Colonialism and monarchism are unpopular in parts of the world, but among racing folk at least, the Royal presence is celebrated.

“You will find some people who’ll say that racing is at a disadvantage being the Sport of Kings,” Berry said. “They’ll say that it should be called the ‘Sport of the People’, that we don’t want to be seen as being too elitist. But the reason it’s called the Sport of Kings is that it’s always had the patronage of the monarchy, and that’s been hugely to racing’s advantage.

“I think having a level of social cachet is still massive to racing. Royal Ascot is so popular, and people of all walks of society like to put on their best clothes and feel like they’re doing something quite special, which is what that meeting does.”

A long lifetime

You don’t have to be British to understand the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II in horse racing. All horse folk, from breeders to owners and pony club children, will know of Her Majesty’s equine obsession.

The obvious question, as The Queen sits on 96 years of age, is what will happen to that Royal interest when she’s gone.

“I would imagine that the Royal Studs will continue, at least in the short term,” Berry said. “With each generation, you just don’t know. But of The Queen’s children, Princess Anne loves horses and is very interested in racing, and Prince Charles is a lifelong horseman who’s also interested in racing. I don’t think he’d want to change things too much.”

It’s not a common conversation in Britain, probably out of respect for Her Majesty. It could also be that tendency of the British towards extreme politeness, something Red Smith noticed in 1960 at Ascot.

Either way, the recent week’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations showed clearly that The Queen is slowing down, even if she’s been defiant of it. She opted out of the State Opening of Parliament in early May, while patrons of the Windsor Horse Show were delighted a few days later when she showed up for a visit.

“Horses, in a way, have made her just like us,” Berry said, “and I think that’s lovely, and it’s been a lovely thing for people to witness all through her time on the throne.”

Queen Elizabeth II is now the longest-serving British monarch in history and, in 2015, she became the longest-serving female monarch in history, bypassing even her predecessor, Queen Victoria.

At times, it seems to surprise even herself.

“I don’t know that anyone had invented the term ‘platinum’ for a 70th wedding anniversary,” she said during her Christmas speech in 2017. “When I was born, you weren’t expected to be around that long.”

Thursday, Part II of 'All The Queen's Horses' will look at Her Majesty's interest in and influence of Australasian racing.